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Scott Mc Kiernan Presents the ZUMA PRESS zReportage Magazine story #724 of the Week by Richard Tsong-Taatarii / ZUMA Press picture essay and text: ‘LOST DECADE: Haiti Healthcare Critical’.

Posted by ZUMAPRESS.com on February 25, 2020
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LOST DECADE: Haiti Healthcare Critical

Since July 2018, a deepening political and economic crisis has once again put access to health care in Haiti in jeopardy. While thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets to protest skyrocketing prices of goods, a lack of economic opportunities, and government misuse of funds, the international community has mostly remained silent. According to the World Bank, more than six million Haitians—about 60 percent of the population of the country—live below the poverty line on less than $2.41 (US) per day, and more than 2.5 million fall below the extreme poverty line of $1.23 per day. This means that most families struggle to buy food or pay for medicines or medical care. The uncertainty and unrest have also led to an increase in violence. Soaring prices have impacted the cost of medications and health access for Haitians, making it that much harder for people to get the care they need. Public and private medical facilities have also been badly impacted by the crisis. All of this has led to critical shortages of health care staff that have left Haiti’s health care system on the brink of collapse.

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & CEO, ZUMA Press

ZUMA Press Launches this week: zReportage: “Sleeping Outside” Photos by Renee C. Byer/The Sacramento Bee and the story by Theresa Clift/Sacramento Bee

Posted by ZUMAPRESS.com on February 20, 2020
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Sleeping Outside

Six months ago, in the middle of the night, Lane’t Lynn’s friend decided she and her two children couldn’t stay with them anymore. Suddenly, they found themselves homeless.Unable to find a shelter, they started sleeping in her car. She thought it would be temporary. It stretched on for six months. They stayed mostly in the parking lot of a Citrus Heights park that had a bathroom. They weren’t the only homeless family staying there, she said. For four days, they stayed in a downtown Sacramento hotel with a voucher from the county’s department of human services. But it expired, and they went back to sleeping in the car.’It’s hard,’ said Lynn, 24. Lynn, who is known by this name and requested her legal name be withheld because she fears for her welfare, was sitting on the bed of her room at America’s Best Value Inn in Sacramento last week. She was feeding her year-old son London Velavaz apple sauce while her 3-year-old daughter Kalaya Warren watched ‘Frozen’ in pajamas. ‘But I make sure my kids have what they need. We make it the best we can,’ she said. Homeless mom describes the hardship of finding housing with her children. Many homeless mothers in Sacramento have a similar story. As Sacramento rents continue to rapidly rise, affordable housing has become scarce. As a result, the region’s homeless shelters are typically full, while many people have taken to living in encampments along the American River Parkway, under freeway overpasses, and in downtown doorways. A huge number of them are families, quietly sleeping under blankets in winter coats in cars parked in tucked away in the corners of parking lots at grocery stores, churches and parks.

Scott Mc Kiernan, Founder & CEO, ZUMA Press